"Some people seem to feel that good dancers are born, but all the good dancers I know have been taught or trained."
Our Instructors at fred astaire Belmont
Earl and Jennifer Batol, owners and instructors, have collectively been with the Fred Astaire organization for over 20 years, and are currently celebrating their fifth year in business at the Belmont location.
Earl is a Gold certified instructor in American Style Smooth and Rhythm. While teaching and competing professionally, he became dance director of the successful FADS Hanover in 1998. From 1999-2002, Earl coached the MIT competitive ballroom dance team. 
He also briefly coached the Northeastern University team in 2002.
Jennifer started dancing at the tender age of five, and by the age of eleven, she had acquired extensive training in jazz, tap, and ballet and was performing in theatres with local dance troupes. In high school, Jenn captained the dance team, and in 1996 she received a dance degree from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island. Jennifer began teaching at FADS Hanover after graduation. She is highly regarded in the region as an exceptional dancer, a compassionate teacher and a dedicated professional.
Michelle Montanez, manager and instructor, stepped onto the dance floor at the age of 6 and, landing her first professional show as a soloist in The Nutcracker for the the North Star Ballet in Fairbanks, Alaska, she has never left. She has studied and performed a broad range of styles including ballet, 
modern and ballroom, and graduated from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford with a B.F.A. in Dance performance. After joining the Belmont team in 2003 as an instructor, she flourished into a manager and earned the title of theManager of Year for 2008 and 2009 for the New England region. Actively competing both regionally and nationally, she is the reigning Open Rhythm Champion of the New England region and the Rising Star Rhythm finalists of the 2010 Astaire World Championships with her partner Martin Rycroft. Michelle feels that her profession as a dance instructor "helps people to embrace dance as an accessible social and artistic endeavor that is completely rewarding to everyone who takes part."
Melodie Brannan began her formal education at the British Record Industry Trust School, and following completion enrolled at the Laban Centre of London. Following her training, she started her career as a dance performer, instructor, and choreographer. Melodie taught throughout London, specializing in childrens instruction in a variety of dance styles. She also staged numerous performance pieces for stage, television, and theatre. In 2003 she joined the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Glastonbury, CT, later transferring to Greensboro, NC. Since joining the Belmont staff, she has acquired a reputation of teaching exciting and high-energy lessons.
Esmeralda Sosa has been dancing up a whirlwind since she was 8. Starting out with ballet in Mexico,
her love for movement, only rivaled by her love for pink, has grown to encompass pointe, jazz, modern, tap, hip hop, lyrical gymnastics, and ballroom dancing. Interested in expanding her knowledge about injury prevention, she attended UMASS Amherst and Boston where she achieved degrees in Exercise Physiology and Dance.
Not only an experienced choreographer, she continued her focus on healthy movement with past experience as a yoga instructor and a personal trainer. Recently she has become a licensed ZUMBA instructor. Esmeralda is delighted to share her passion and help her community achieve healthy and happy lifestyles through dance.
Brad Lowe discovered his love of dance at the age of 13 through Lindy, Swing and Jive. Excelling in the lifts, aerials and other tricks of these dances, he embarked on a lifelong passion that led him to study Latin under coaching legends such as Armin Kappacher in Boston, MA and Vibeke Toft in New York. He enthusiastically joined the FADS Belmont team as an award winning dancer on both the collegiate and amateur levels. As an experienced choreographer who has done various showcases throughout New York and Massachusetts, he is excited to share his talents with the students. Brad has become instantly known as being an exceptionally fun dancer and enthusiastic teacher focused on discovering everyone's true dancing potential.
Istvan Cserven enjoyed anextensive dance career in his native Hungary before moving to the United States; there he held the amateur title of Hungarian Standard Champion, three-time Vice-Hungarian 10-Dance Champion, and was a member of the National Champion Latin Formation Team. For the next 11 years he coached competitive couples of all levels and ages, as well as the Hungarian Latin Youth Champions. He also served as the Vice-President of the Hungarian Dance Sport Association for two years. Istvan joined the Fred Astaire studios of New England in 1997 and has since taught in the Norwood, Boston, and Hanover locations. He has been named Top Teacher at the Fred Astaire Tri-Star Championships, and is an accomplished Licentiate of the U.S. Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. "I love to see people grow in all aspects of their life through developing their dance ability."
Martin Rycroft started dancing at the age of 4 and by age 8 was already into ballroom and Latin American dancing styles. He soon began competing regularly, soon reaching the World Junior 10 Dance semi-finals and representing Wales as the Welsh Champion throughout Europe and beyond. Later on, Martin became a part of the chart-topping pop band The Fast Food Rockers. In 2006 he appeared in the Channel 4 production of "Boys Will Be Girls" before joining a Take Thattribute band and working as a choreographer/performer throughout Manchester. Martin recently joined the Norwood/Belmont team, where he splits his time between the two studios.
Dance photo above generously provided by Mark Druy.
Chris Uy hails from Hawaii and, despite the winters, is thrilled to return to the Belmont studio. Dancing since he was a teenager, he is known for his vibrant style. Before resettling in at Belmont, he has broken in his dance shoes across the country in the Fred Astaire studios in Boston Downtown along with Armin Kappacher, as well as Fort Walton Beach and Panama City. He has studied along with Corky Ballas, Tony Dovolani, Taliat Tarsinov, Eddi Apolonov and Valentin Chmerkovskiy among many talented others. Along with his dance partner Nina DiPerrio, he has earned the titles of 3rd Rising Star American Champion, 4th World Open American Rhythm Champion, and 4th World Rising Rhythm Champion. Professionally, he has also been in Dancing with Desire in Florida for four years (2005 and 2009 through 2011). Beyond everything dance, he enjoys long walks on the beach, pina coladas, Saturday morning cartoons and watching his students grow and excel.
Dana Gould, office manager, arrived at Belmont with a diverse professional background. After teaching archery to children for 4 years, she decided to move into the safety of the indoors and focus on her creative and organizational talents. While earning her degrees in Art and Landscape Studies at Smith College, she divided her time between the Art Studio and the Performing Arts building where she worked in the box office and designed show flyers and programs. Her artwork continues to be shown in galleries across Massachusetts and New Jersey. In 2008 she was an Assistant in Installation for the 200' conceptual drawing by Sol LeWitt in the United States Federal Criminal Courthouse in Springfield, MA. While she arrived at Belmont with only her failed childhood figure skating career to mention for dance experience, she is ecstatic to not only apply her administrative skills in a creative, happy environment but to also take dance lessons and learn along with the students.
Serving the Belmont, Arlington, Cambridge, Lexington, Newton, Watertown and Waltham areas.